Police Scotland’s Highland and Islands Division has secured funding for a three-year mental health and wellbeing project to benefit its officers and staff.

The funding, announced on 6 February 2020 and provided by Police Care UK’s 1in4 Fund, has enabled the division to employ a project officer to oversee the implementation of a mental health action plan.

Additionally, Police Scotland has launched a formal partnership with Scottish mental health discrimination charity See Me. Both this partnership and the mental health action plan form part of the organisation’s commitment to ensuring good practice in relation to mental health and wellbeing, and to examine and improve the relevant policies, processes and procedures.

Inspector Judy Hill, said: “The funding from Police Care UK gives us the opportunity to really tackle the issues around mental health stigma and discrimination, enabling us to lead the way in ensuring that, as an employer, our workplace is a mentally healthy one.

“We recognise that working as a police officer involves trauma as a core part of the job, but we also acknowledge that we must support our own staff to ensure they are mentally well and able to continue to provide a high level of service and response in our communities, both now and in the future.”